Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Pregnancy tickers

Monday, September 20, 2010

~ He eats like a champ!! He eats every 1-3 hours and has already outgrown his newborn diapers and some of his newborn clothes! I weighed myself then weighed with him the other day and he as gained a little under a pound from his birth weight!! He is a growing boy!!

~ He is a good sleeper. He generally only wakes up between 1-2 and 4-5 to eat. Other than that he is a wonderful sleeper at night!

~ Walker does not like to take many naps. Over the past week Walker generally eats at 5ish and will stay awake through his 7:30 feeding and will not nap until after his 10ish feeding! After that nap he generally will only take a couple 20 minute power naps throughout the day.

~Walker is a very content baby....not fussy at all. He is typically fussy only when he is wet/dirty, hungry or wants his paci! Sweet sweet boy!

~He sleeps in his swing at night and during most naps. It is one of his favorite places to sleep (his favorite place is on Mommy or Daddy's chest)

Here are some pictures of the last 2 weeks!

Napping on the couch....

Sleeping in his swing

A little sponge bath for baby...

TUMMY TIME!

All cozy in his boppy...

Ok...so here are mine and Richards baby pictures...do you see any resemblances?

Monday, September 13, 2010

I typically don't blog . . . at all. But over the past week since Walker's birth, Amy and other family members have asked me questions about what I was thinking and what was going on during the whole event. Before I forget the amazing feelings that I had that day, I thought that I would share my perspective on parts of Walker's birth.

I remember that Friday Amy had called/texted me numerous times about feeling contractions that were consistently about 10 minutes apart most of the day. This might seem callous of me, but I really did not think too much of it. Amy had been telling me that she had been feeling light, slightly uncomfortable contractions for a few days. I really did not think that Walker was coming because we had worked ourselves up numerous times about his arrival being imminent only to be disappointed. After Amy took the 4:30 PM RPM on Friday, she tried to take BodyPump with Scott and I. However, squats and contractions proved to be an unbearable combination, and she left about halfway through Track 2. I immediately went into hysteria because I had no clue what was going on, but I trusted Amy to let me know if something was really going on!

After I got done with Pump, we came home, and the contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart. I kept thinking they were Braxton Hicks, but we broke out the stop watch after we got back from dinner at Panera Bread until Amy got anxious about timing everything. To pass the time, we put on a little Law and Order and went to bed.

I went to sleep, but she really didn't. I think she slept for about an hour or so. I slept pretty soundly until I got the unsuspecting tap on my shoulder at about 2:25 in the morning. "Babe, I think my water just broke." She said it so nonchalantly, and I immediately went into overdrive. I don't remember what I was thinking, but I remember asking Amy if I should call the hospital. So I called the hospital which I had previously programmed into my phone for just such an emergency as this, but it happened to be the wrong unit at the hospital, and I had to get a new number from these nice people who were dealing with a stressed father.

During this time, Amy wanted to make sure she was clean when she went to the hospital, so she was showering, and drying her hair, and straightening her hair. At about 2:40, the "real" contractions came, and they came fast (about 3 mintues apart). I was running around the house, packing the car, straightening up the living room, making up the bed, moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer so it did not spoil. In my haste, I forgot to fold the laundry and take down our "curtains" in our bedroom. I was putting the last bit of Amy's bath stuff in her bag when she informed me that she was on her way to the car! That meant it was time for me to move. We hoped in the car at 3:27 am and were on our way to East Alabama Medical Center. I don't remember too much about the drive except there was a train on the tracks so we did not take our "faster" back way to the hospital.

I don't remember exactly when we got to the hospital, but it was not too long after we left the house. We walked into the Emergency Room and there really was not anyone down there. There was one lady (who did not seem to be that coherent) who was waiting to be helped in front of us. Needless to say, Amy was hurting, and she was trying to get the person behind the shatterproof window to find out if her ride had left her. After what seemed like an eternity, but what was more like 10 minutes, a second person helped us, and got us all checked in. A nurse came, put Amy in a wheelchair, and whisked us away to the third floor and room 3129 which would be our home for the next few hours.

We got into our room around 4:20ish, and Amy was in a ton of pain. She knew that these were for real and she was ready for the drugs! The nurse tried to help her stay comfortable, but she did not appreciate them asking her all kinds of questions and making her sign all kinds of documents while she was having contractions which were not about 2 minutes apart. About 5:15, Dr. Arnold flew into the room to give her the "sweet relief" that the epidural promised. While he was giving her the epidural, he seemed a little displeased because Amy's blood pressure spiked, but that might have been my fault. I don't think I was being a very good head support for her. When Dr. Arnold left the room at 5:30, he told her that she should be feeling much better in about 10 minutes. At 6:00 we were having a nurse shift change, Amy was still having painful contractions, and I was running around trying to find somone who could fix this problem.

Dr. Arnold flew back into the room about 6:15, and by 6:40, Amy felt no pain! To quote her, "I like drugs." Once Amy's epidural had taken, we then allowed family and friends into the room in spurts. Amy's mom and dad had just arrived so we sat around the room for the next little bit. Amy watched the Nanny on TV, some of the Today show, and we just waited on the Dr. to come back and check from time to time. Ms. Susan Kelly came by to visit us during this time, and a few other friends dropped by and left notes in the lobby just to say they were thinking of us, and we greatly appreciate all the thoughts and prayers during this time. Other than waiting, nothing really big happened until about 10:30. That is when the nurse came in and told us that it was time to push.

The next 45 minutes is a big blur. I don't remember when the pushing began (even though Boo told me to take a picture of the start time). I do remember of few events that happened during Amy's 45 mintues of grueling work. I remember after about 15 minutes of pushing, the nurse asked if I could get the air mask for Amy. While Amy was pushing, both Amy and Walker's vitals were for lack of a medical term "a little off." Neither were getting the oxygen they needed, so Amy was given the oxygen mask, and Amy was given breaks from pushing to recover about every 5 to 10 minutes. It was really kind of scary because I was not sure what was going on. I could look up on the screen and see Walker's heart rate drop during contractions. I could see Amy's vitals, but I thought this was going according to plan until the oxygen mask appeared. But God is good, and everything worked out fine for both Walker and mother.

A second scare came at about 11:10 when the epidural started beeping. It was out!!! The nurse ordered a second epidural to be brought to the room, but she looked at Amy and said we were not going to need it. It was time to bring Walker into the world!

I love my wife so much! She really is an amazing woman! She is a trooper, and I have seen her work hard in her life, but I have never seen her work as hard as she did to deliver our son. At 11:28 James Walker Willis was born. I noticed when he was born that he was face up, and that made me nervous about Amy's recovery. I looked down at our son, and I don't think words describe the way I felt. A million thoughts flew into my head, and a million thoughts flew away as I instantly knew that I loved this young boy.

I was speechless as Dr. Marino placed him in the arms of my wife, and I was fighting to hold back the tears. I had never been so in love with Amy, and the joy I felt was amazing! I got to hold Walker for the first time, and all I could do was just smile. This little boy who had just been born was going to be a source of joy and anxiety, but right now, I could just thank God for the amazing experience that He just let me go through. I had a son. A son whom I could teach to love God. A son I could teach to love his mother. A son I could teach the importance of family and friends. A son whom I could pass down my thoughts, insights, and experiences to. A son who might appreciate college football, baseball, and Star Wars more than his mother does. I had a son, and that meant that I was a father. A father whose family just grew. A man whose family had just gotten bigger and better! I love you Walker! I love you Amy! And I now have the rest of my life to show you both how much I do indeed love you!

One more thing . . . one word that people used to describe Walker constantly was perfect. I could not agree more!

Monday, September 6, 2010

I have been anxiously awaiting this blog post for the past several weeks and now I can offically say that our little family of 2 has become a family of 3! That's right, on September 4, 2010 at 11:28 AM Richard and I welcomed our precious little James Walker into this world. Walker weighed in at 7lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long...and is absolutely PERFECT!

For those of you who are wondering.....here is our "Baby Story"

The couple of weeks leading up to September 4th were very LONG for me. I am a touch "OC" about certain things. I had worked HARD all summer to get ahead and be prepared for Walker's arrival. So when I was 37 weeks pregnant EVERYTHING...and I mean EVERYTHING was done that I could possibly do....school was done, the house was SPOTLESS, the nursery was decorated, Walker's clothes were clean, organized, and put away, our stand alone freezer was FULL of food, and our home was organized and baby ready.

I tell you this simply to take you to the day before Walker decided to make his big debut.

Since everything was done that I could possibly do, I had been a touch bored. I like to be BUSY and productive and had already done every trivial task possible to pass time.

Well Friday, September 3rd I had planned another trip to Montgomery to visit and pass time with my Mom. The day started out like any other.

I woke up wondering if today would be the day but quickly dismissed the idea (since I had previously convinced myself that Walker would be coming each day since week 37...this particular day I was 39wks and 1 day). Well, that morning around 8:30 I started having MILD contractions every 10-15minutes. The contractions were not painful...some a TOUCH uncomfortable but definitely not painful....and many felt like Braxton Hicks contractions so I was not concerned and went a head to Montgomery. Mom and I spent the day together running errands and hanging out until about 2:45. Mom was very nervous (since the contractions were STILL coming...even though not painful) that I was going to go into labor and encouraged/told me to go back to Auburn.

I was still unconivnced that Walker was getting ready. I drove back to Auburn that afternoon and needed something else to distract my mind. What did I do? I went to the gym...of course! After getting home from the gym I noticed that the contractions were now about 8 minutes apart...but they really were not getting any stronger. Richard and I just did not know what was going on.

Later on that night at about 9:30 we layed down to try and get some sleep. Richard was able to fall asleep pretty quickly, but, unfortunately, my mind was going about 100 miles a minute wondering if this could really be it, so about 10:30 I went downstairs to the couch. For the next 4 hours I laid on the couch trying to sleep, wondering if each new feeling was a "real" contraction, and hoping that all of the sudden I would "just know" that it was time.

Well at 2:20 AM I got up and my WATER BROKE! It took me a second to realize what had happened and to wrap my mind around what exactly that meant. I ran upstairs, tapped Richard on the arm and said "babe....I think my water just broke..." Richard JUMPED out of bed "REALLY???"...."Yes!"....He ran to the phone to call the hospital and was in GO MODE!

I decided that I needed to get clean before we headed to the hospital. So I got in the shower at 2:30 just in time to experience my first REAL contraction...let's just say that it took my breath away, lasted about 1 minute and was followed by another 2 minutes later...yes that is right....once my contractions really started they were 3 minutes apart. I finished getting ready as quickly as possible (which was hard with contractions SO close). We finally got to the hospital about 3:30 AM were registered and got set up in our Labor and Delivery room. About this time my contractions were lasting about 60-90 sec and were 2 minutes apart.

At 5:30 I recieved my first epidural. At 5:50 I was asked if I was supposed to feel different...because I didn't. Richard told me that at this point contractions were coming 2 minutes apart and some were coming back to back. All I know is that I was in pain and not really focusing on the clock. At 6:30 my second epidural kicked in!

No Pain = One happy Camper! :)

Last Picture of our Family of 2!!!

Mom and Dad had made it to the hospital at this point so they came back to the room and we talked until about 10:15. At this time I started pushing. During this time we ran into a few complications, but at 11:28 AM Walker made his debut!!!

I laugh because when Richard and I first got married we talked about a bigger family...you know maybe 4 kids....about a month into my pregnancy (and for the next 8 months) to be completely honest with you...I was down to thinking...I HATE BEING PREGNANT and seriously thought that this would be our only child. Well the MOMENT I held baby Walker everything changed and would do it again in a moment. It is amazing how much you can immediately fall in love with someone you have just met!